It is known in the roofing art to provide roll roofing material, formed into cylindrical rolls. Such roll roofing material will generally comprise asphalt saturated felts, which may function as starter strips on a roof, or as underlayments on a roof over which shingles may be applied. Generally, when used as starter strips, or as underlayments, the roll roofing material, with or without mineral surfaces applied on the outwardly-facing surface, will be applied on sloped roofs. Sometimes granules or other minerals are applied in an embedded form to the outwardly-facing surface of the roll roofing material during its manufacture.
Typically, rolled roofing is sold in boxes. However, the boxing-up of roll roofing can be resource-intensive during production, requiring additional labor to box the material and to then palletize the boxes. Such packaging, when it is done, can cause a reduction in the speed of production lines.
Additionally, boxes can offer protection from ultraviolet light, and it is desirable to avoid placing roofing products where they can be subjected to unnecessary ultraviolet light, in order to avoid degradation of the roofing materials. For example, some adhesives, such as can be used on self-adhering membranes (roll roofing type) can be susceptible to ultraviolet degradation. Other adhesives can also be susceptible to ultraviolet degradation. Sometimes roll roofing material is placed in an opaque liner that covers the outside of the rolled roofing products, but often, even when the outside or cylindrical surface of the roll roofing material is wrapped with an opaque liner, the ends of the rolls can be exposed to ultraviolet light, thereby leading to adhesive degradation and loss of adhesive tack at the outermost edges of the roll roofing product.
Furthermore, when roll roofing materials are applied on a sloped or pitched roof, the roofing may roll off the roof, creating a hazardous working environment. Sometimes, the roll roofing is placed in boxes to stabilize them and prevent them from rolling off the roof.
Additionally, due to the size and shape of roll roofing, such roofing can be unwieldy and difficult to transport from the ground to the rooftop at a construction site. For example, typical sizes of roll roofing can be 36 inches wide and, when unrolled from their cylindrical form to a flat form, can be 36 feet long, 72 feet long, 144 feet long, etc., which, considering the materials from which roll roofing are created, including generally asphalt-impregnated webs, with particulate material applied thereto, such as granules, talc, etc., the weight involved in having to transport roll roofing from typically a ground level to a roofing level, up a ladder or the like, can create difficult labor situations.